Installing a Pet Door

Getting Started

Stuff You'll Need
- Tape measure
- Pencil
- Level
- Tape
- Pet-door kit
- Drill and bits
- Jig saw
- Wood shims (if necessary)

Step 1: Measure from the floor to the bottom of your pet's abdomen. Then transfer that measurement to the door and mark it with a pencil. (That's where the bottom of the pet door will go.) Use the level to draw a straight and level line across the door at that point.

Level Lines

Step 2: Tape the template that came with the pet door to your door so that the bottom touches the level line you drew. Trace around the template, which will later guide your cut.

Step 3: Using a 1/2-inch drill bit, drill a hole all the way through the door in the top two corners of your trace marks.

Make Your Cuts

Step 4: Insert the blade of the jigsaw into one of the holes and cut from that hole to the next, and then around the rest of the mark area.

Framing the Door

Step 5: Put the interior frame into the opening and make sure it's not binding. Mark the four screw locations with a pencil.

Step 6: Remove the interior frame. Drill pilot holes over your pencil marks.

Easy Installation

Step 7: Place the interior frame on the inside of the door and the exterior frame on the outside of the door. Working from the inside, screw the two pieces together through the door, using the screws that came with the pet door.

From JoAnne Liebeler's Do It Herself

For more easy home improvement projects, purchase JoAnne Liebeler's Do It Herself.